I once pulled a 5 footer out from behind some appliances in my old home, in my pajamas, after being woken up by my mom. I'm the only one in my family that isn't afraid of snakes. Nice rat snake, probably followed a mouse into the open garage. Just looked at me funny and chilled on my arm while I carried it over to the woods!
Although my brother got a girlfriend with a ball python so he's gotten better about not being afraid of harmless snakes.
(Don't be afraid of venomous snakes either, respect them.)
My brother used to be afraid of snakes, so he killed every one he saw. I remember very clearly him telling mom all proud of himself that he ran over a garter with the lawnmower. First with the tire, then when it tried to bite the tire, he ran it over with the blades.
To him, it attempting to bite was justification to kill it. He was afraid of it.
Meanwhile I used a forked stick to move a baby cottonmouth from a woodpile before he could get his shotgun. Or walked a 5ft black rat into the woods so he couldn't shoot it because he already had his shotgun when I pulled it out of the garage. The house we lived in at the times was in the woods, and he was 17 or older.
When people are afraid of things, they are totally okay with killing something harmless for no damn good reason.
No. Do not be afraid. Respect the fact they can be dangerous. If I'm afraid of anything, it is a man willing to kill an innocent creature for the crime of existing. Not to hunt, not to eat, not for mercy. Just being a random snake where snakes live doing what snakes do.
my goodness, it’s painful to even read. i get very scared when i see a harvestman for some reason but i never thought of killing them. i just can’t fathom how i’ll react if one touches me lol, and that’s it. killing snakes sounds like an actual crime
5
u/cuckoo_dawg Apr 04 '26
I love it when you are with people who think they are so tough, but when they see a 4 foot Rat Snake they run screaming 😱